Struggling with pregnancy weight gain (and feeling bad about it)

[Pregnancy33]

Hi guys! I hope everyone is well. I’m just wondering if anyone else has or is struggling with something similar? And if anyone has any advice on how to cope!

I’m currently 19 weeks pregnant and I’m struggling with weight gain and body changes. Particularly weight gain on my legs and bum, with worse cellulite as a result. Obviously everyone is different and I know comparison is an awful idea but I can’t help seeing other pregnant women, maintaining their slim limbs with little body changes but a bump. If anything, I feel like everything other than my bump is expanding.

I work part-time in the fitness industry so I’m finding this change particularly hard. I’ve always kept myself slim through exercise and good diet, without being too over the top about it and anytime I put on a bit of weight, I was able to get back on track easily enough. However, as it’s not advised to lose weight when pregnant, I’m reluctant to cut calories too much or increase my exercise, like I would have in the past.

I feel really low about this and I’m embarrassed meeting people I haven’t seen in a while or teaching my classes looking so out of shape. Over all I feel really guilty about this because I’m incredibly grateful to be pregnant and all I want is a healthy pregnancy and baby but I just can’t help how I feel.

I would really welcome any advice you guys can give!x

You can manage your weight during pregnancy so don't feel you can't make changes to your diet, and you can safely increase your activity levels so long as you're not exhausting yourself or starting exercise you've not done before. There is a big difference between dieting, managing weight gain, and just letting it pile on.

That said, your body does inevitably change and some weight gain is part and parcel of the process. 10-12kg is a normal amount to gain during a pregnancy. If you're near the top end of that already and you're feeling uncomfortable about it you could certainly take some action. If you're nearer the middle I wouldn't worry too much. I've gained the most in the first two trimesters with both pregnancies and somewhat evened out in the third both times. At 19 weeks you still don't really have a proper bump but it will come over the next 6 weeks or so, which might help you feel better. Take some control of it if you want to but equally if you don't, don't worry about it too much. It's not a time to stress yourself out about something unnecessarily. If you were fit and a sensible weight before the likelihood is you won't find getting back to good habits and losing the weight afterwards too tricky. Hope things go well for you.

I agree, you don’t have to diet but you can still eat healthily and exercise, I would avoid anything very strenuous like HIIT - unless you have been running HIIT classes and are used to it. Some of the changes you observe is extra fluid - your blood volume increases dramatically during pregnancy and you also produce a lot more estrogen than normal so that is where the cellulite comes from.